The present invention relates to a hand-held power tool guiding device and method.
Drilling overhead in ceilings using hand-operated drilling equipment presents difficulties for the operator. Drilling equipment, above all core drills, is very heavy so that the operator is only able to manually apply the required feed force for a brief time. Furthermore, because of the ceiling height the operator must work on ladders or other auxiliary equipment in order to create boreholes in the ceiling.
Guiding devices in the form of ceiling drill stands in which hand-operated drilling equipment is inserted are known for creating boreholes in ceilings. Additional examples of known guiding devices are drill stands for creating boreholes in walls or in the floor and moveable guide wagons equipped with rollers for creating kerfs in the floor. The various drilling tools, sawing tools and other power tools are summarized under the designation “power tool.”
Known guiding devices include a receptacle element, in which the power tool is inserted and fastened, a remote control device for turning the power tool on and off and a transmission device for transmitting the movement of the remote control device to the power tool, wherein the transmission device has a switch actuator and a connecting element. Remote control is accomplished via an electrical interface to which the power tool is attached and which is turned on and off via the remote control device or via a mechanical remote control device.
The disadvantage of known guiding devices is that the electrical remote control can only be used for power tools that do not have a restart interlock. The restart interlock is a safety function that is relevant for hand-operated power tools and prevents a power tool whose supply of power was interrupted from restarting automatically. The restart interlock must be activated before the power tool can be operated again.
In the case of power tools with a restart interlock, remote control is effected via a mechanical remote control device, which includes a hand lever, a Bowden cable and a switch actuator. The operator must connect the device switch, which is used to turn the power tool on and off, to the switch actuator so that the movement of the hand lever can be transmitted to the device switch.
It would be desirable to improve a device for guiding a power tool with regard to the disadvantages explained above. The object of the present invention is making available a device for guiding a power tool in which the switch actuator can be brought into the correct position with little effort.
According to the invention, it is provided that the switch actuator is adjustable into a Standby position by the power tool during insertion of the power tool into the receptacle element. The switch actuator, which transmits the movement of the remote control device to a device switch of the power tool, is moved automatically during insertion into an operationally ready position, which is designated as the Standby position. The operator does not have to perform an additional work step in order to move the switch actuator into the Standby position.
In a preferred embodiment, the switch actuator is configured to be rotatable around an axis in a rotational direction. It is especially preferred if the switch actuator is also configured to be displaceable along the axis. Because of the additional displaceability of the switch actuator along the axis, the movement of the remote control device is transmitted to the device switch with the same component which moves the switch actuator into the Standby position. The integration of functions produces a compact design, because fewer components are required.
In a preferred embodiment, the switch actuator is configured as a swiveling/sliding element having a sliding element and a swivel element, which has a first and second arm, wherein the first and second arms of the swiveling element are especially preferably connected to the sliding element.
The switch actuator is mounted on the receptacle element by at least one mount, wherein preferably two mounts are provided on the receptacle element. The mounts are designed as latches on the receptacle element or as boreholes in the receptacle element. Because of the mounting of the switch actuator on the receptacle element, the switch actuator is always arranged correctly and does not have to be kept separately.
In a preferred embodiment, the transmission device has a reset device for resetting the switch actuator. By resetting the switch actuator, the switch actuator is directly ready for operation again after removal of the power tool and the operator does not have to manually adjust it to the correct position.
In a variant, the reset device includes a first resetting element, which acts in the displacement direction, and a second resetting element, which acts in the rotational direction, and, in an alternative variant, a resetting element, which acts both in the displacement direction as well as in the rotational direction. A resetting element which resets the switch actuator to the displacement direction and rotational direction produces a compact design of the transmission device, because fewer components are required.
The resetting element is preferably configured as a compression leg spring, wherein the compression leg spring especially preferably has a first leg, which is supported on the receptacle element, and a second leg, which is supported on the switch actuator. The first and second legs of the compression leg spring are especially preferably pre-tensioned on the receptacle element and on the switch actuator. The restoring force of the compression leg spring makes sure that the switch actuator is moved back via displacement into the Standby position after the remote control device is let go of and rotated back into the Off position after the power tool is removed.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in the following on the basis of the drawings. These drawings are not necessarily supposed to represent the exemplary embodiments to scale, rather the drawings are executed in a schematic or slightly distorted form when it is useful for explanatory purposes. Reference is made to the pertinent prior art with respect to additions to the teachings directly identifiable from the drawings. It must be taken into consideration in this case that a wide range of modifications and changes related to the form and detail of an embodiment can be undertaken without deviating from the general idea of the invention. The features of the invention disclosed in the description, the drawings as well as in the claims may be essential for the further development of the invention both separately as well as in any combination. Moreover, all combinations of at least two features disclosed in the description, the drawings and/or the claims fall within the scope of the invention. The general idea of the invention is not restricted to the exact form or detail of the preferred embodiment described and depicted in the following or restricted to a subject matter, which would be limited as compared to the subject matter claimed in the claims. In the case of any dimensioning ranges given, values within the stated limits are also meant to be disclosed as limit values, and be applicable at will and claimable. For the sake of simplicity, the same reference numbers are used in the following for identical or similar parts having an identical or similar function.
Additional advantages, features and details of the invention are disclosed in the following description of the preferred exemplary embodiment as well as on the basis of the drawings.